After the 2017 crypto bull run, Bitcoin cash’s popularity slumped, and its price movements stagnated. It fell off the top 5 cryptocurrency list, and exchanges stopped supporting some of its trading crosses due to liquidity issues, with others delisting the altcoin altogether. However, 2021 seems to have handed the digital coin a new lease in life. For the second time in its history, one Bitcoin Cash coin traded well above the $700 mark.
Now, the internet is awash with Bitcoin cash price predictions. Some have expressed a lot of optimism on its future price performance, while others continue to pour cold water on its recent price burp. Its proponents believe its prices may go past $1,000 before year-end, while its fiercest critics bet on its price plunging and settling below the $300 level.
Let us go through some of these future price predictions and also highlight any past Bitcoin Cash predictions that actually came true.
But first, we try to understand how Bitcoin cash came to be, how it works, and the role it seeks to play in the digital economy. We will also touch on its price history as well as how and where you can acquire the digital currency.
What Is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin Cash is peer-to-peer electronic cash and a fork of the Bitcoin blockchain. It was created in August 2017 by a group of Bitcoin miners, developers, and investors.
These felt like Bitcoin was deviating from its objective of becoming an electronic currency that competes with and ultimately replaces fiat cash in facilitating everyday transactions across the world as intended by Satoshi Nakamoto.
They opined that the many problems faced by Bitcoin, especially the scalability issue, were making it uncompetitive in the payment-processing world and positioning it as a store of value/investment vehicle.
So, how did Bitcoin Cash come to be?
A brief history. When Bitcoin launched in 2009, there were only a few BTC transactions, transaction confirmation speeds were high, and the processing fees were no more than a few USD cents. But as bitcoin gained popularity and the number of its users soared, an unprecedented flaw within the blockchain was discovered – scalability.
The size of one Bitcoin block, which averages 1MB, could not handle the increased interest in the blockchain. The transaction processing speeds slacked, and given that the BTC network can only process seven transactions per second, the number of unconfirmed transactions piled, forcing BTC users to wait for hours before their transactions can be added to a block. Ultimately, the transaction confirmation fees on the BTC network shot up significantly. The debate to finding the solution to the scalability issue divided the Bitcoin community into two factions; one proposed that the block size be increased to between 8MB and 32MB. The other preferred to maintain the status quo.
On 1st August 2017, developers and crypto experts in favour of a scalable bitcoin blockchain initiated the process of increasing the Bitcoin block size. The move birthed Bitcoin Cash altcoin, which has since been assigned the BCH ticker. It forked off Bitcoin’s block 478558. And today, BCH supports larger blocks of up to 32MB, with research and stress testing ongoing to see how farther up this size can be scaled. Importantly, it records faster transaction speeds (averaging 116 transactions per second), and the typical BCH transaction costs less than a penny.
Check Out: Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash
How Does It Work?
Bitcoin Cash is a Bitcoin hard fork. It continues to use the proof of work consensus algorithm as well as the SHA256 hashing algorithm used by Bitcoin. Like Bitcoin, BCH also has the block confirmation time set at around 10 minutes. But with the increased block size, BCH is able to accommodate more transactions, which translates to lower processing fees.
Bitcoin Cash has a limited supply as there will only ever be 21 million BCH. It is a minable altcoin, and computing power contributors to the network are currently receiving a 12.5 BCH reward for confirming a block, which is expected to fall to 6.25 BCH after the April 2021 halving.
Today, BCH is used as a payment method because its fast transaction processing speeds and low fees are able to compete favourably against popular everyday payment methods like Visa cards.
The low fees and faster transaction speeds notwithstanding, Bitcoin Cash hasn’t been able to outride Bitcoin’s market penetration. Its popularity has also dwindled with time, having fallen off the list of five biggest cryptocurrencies to the current position 19. BCH’s market cap has also plunged from the heights of $60+ Billion in December 2017 to an average of $6 billion at the time of writing.
Bitcoin Cash Trading And Usage
In coming up with Bitcoin Cash, developers wanted to move away from having the crypto being used as a store of value and an investment tool and center it around, facilitating everyday e-cash transactions. Though several stores across the world process BTC payments, it hasn’t been as widely adopted as a payment method as Bitcoin.
Today, BCH is primarily used as a tradable instrument on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. You can acquire the altcoin by buying it from these trading platforms or get involved in mining.
Bitcoin Cash In 2021: Everything You Should Know About The Price Surge
For the second time in Bitcoin Cash history, it traded above $700 in mid-February 2021. This price level was first achieved in the last quarter of 2017 – a few months after the altcoin’s creation and during the historic crypto market rally. Well into the third month of 2021, and Bitcoin Cash price continued to range wildly.
At the beginning of the year, for instance, the price of one BCH was around $340. By the second week of January, this price jumped sharply and set a resistance level above the $600 mark before plunging to $380. In the first two weeks of February, the Bitcoin fork gathered enough momentum to help it reach its 52-week high of $767. Going into March, however, the thrust died down, and the altcoin value dipped to around $500. In May BCH reached $1,597.65. In October, it was trading at $583. BCH value dropped further due to the December bear market.
But what are the causes of these sudden Bitcoin cash price movements? And what impact will they have on the coin moving forward?
Bitcoin bullish rally
Bitcoin cash, like all other BTC forks and generally the entire crypto industry, will always react to both positive and negative Bitcoin price surges. As Bitcoin price tore above $60,000 in February, it was only logical that Bitcoin Cash benefits from the overflow of the attention that the legacy digital currency has been garnering for the past few months. Going forward, in the short term, at least, one can only expect Bitcoin Cash price to continue mirroring Bitcoin’s price moves.
Massive adoption
Several big-name institutions have expressed interest in Bitcoin Cash, which may have nudged its upward price jump. The online retail giant Rakuten and Google Finance recently made public their plans to start processing Bitcoin Cash Payments. In Europe, 21Shares AG in Switzerland introduced the Bitcoin Cash ETP into the Swiss stock market. These announcements have had a positive impact on BCH value in the last two months and are expected to influence its future price movements.
Unofficial Bitcoin Cash roadmap 2021
Bitcoin Cash does not have a Roadmap. It was, therefore, a big deal when the Bitcoin Cash developers and crypto experts came together to launch what is now referred to as the unofficial BCH roadmap at the beginning of the year. The ‘launch’ that is captured in a video that introduced to the public some of the significant developmental updates the team has been involved in, what they were working on, and upcoming future updates. Such a move boosts user confidence in the coin and is expected to have a significant impact on the value of BCH going forward.
Warring Bitcoin factions
When Bitcoin Cash forked to create Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Version) in 2018, it created three warring factions. For the past three years, a war raged on between the three with regards to which faction was true to the Satoshi Nakamoto (the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator’s) vision on a decentralized payment processor.
This has seen both individual investors and merchant stores avoid either faction, which has been detrimental to the price of Bitcoin Cash. The latest claim to the BTC whitepaper by BitcoinSV faction leader, Craig Wright, saw OKcoin - a US-based exchange, delist both BCH and BSV from its trading platforms.
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Bitcoin Cash Price History: BCH Price Performance From August 2017 To 2020
Bitcoin Cash closed its first day of trading – 23rd July 2017 – valued at $440. By the end of the first week of August the same year, this price had plummeted by more than half, with a BCH coin going for as low as $213. Around the same time, the Bitcoin craze was just peaking, and this bullish rally dragged the BCH value up to reach $1000 for the first time on 10th November 2010 and hit its all-time high of $4335 on 20th December 2017.
2018 would, however, prove to be a rough year for most cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin Cash, seeing that by December, its value had dipped to a mere $75. For the better part of 2020, Bitcoin cash tried to force a recovery with a sheepish rally that saw the coin trade within the $200 and $400 price levels.
It was not until December 2020 that the Bitcoin fork showed a sustained upward momentum that carried it to February 2021.
But why the unexpected price drop and failed recovery for the period between 2018 and 2020?
Well, for the better part of 2018, Bitcoin Cash endured a lot of criticism from Bitcoin proponents who were against this new fork. They felt like BCH diluted Bitcoin’s influence in the new digital age and that its developers weren’t genuine in their quest to solve BTC’s scalability issues. It was even baptized ‘Bitcoin Trash.’
A year after the creation of BCH, its development team disagreed on the altcoin’s future, resulting in yet another fork on 15th November 2018, which birthed Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV. And as the biggest Bitcoin Cash supporters admitted at the time, this was the final nail to the altcoin’s hope of ever competing with Bitcoin. The 2018 fork and the controversial nature of Bitcoin Satoshi team leader – Craig Wright – can, to a large extent, be attributed to the sub-$100 valuation reported by BCH in December 2018.
So, where does the altcoin go from here? Should we expect another dip, or will the coin reclaim an uptrend? Here are some expert opinions about the price outlook of Bitcoin Cash.
Read Also: Could Bitcoin Cash Be A Millionaire Maker?
Bitcoin Cash Price Predictions 2022 – 2023
Some crypto experts are quite bearish about the Bitcoin cash price outlook for 2022 and 2023. They expect the altcoin price to peak, before embarking on a modest descent. Here are their opinions:
Trading beasts
TradingBeats.com, a crypto prediction and analysis website, has a rather optimistic view of the Bitcoin Cash price outlook. They believe that the altcoins slow ascend in value will continue into 2022 and 2023 to close the years at $374.55 and $582.07, respectively.
LongForecast
Longforecast.com is yet another cryptocurrency price prediction website that uses both technical and fundamental analysis techniques. The site has the most pessimistic view of BCH price. They argue that their 2022/23 BCH price forecast takes into account the coin’s dwindling popularity and visibly demotivated price movements. Their analysis places BCH price at an optimistic $148-$448 range in 2022 but expects this value to dip and average $378 by December 2023.
Bitcoin Cash Price Predictions 2024 – 2025 and Beyond
Crypto Ground
Cryptoground, a cryptocurrency analysis and price prediction forecast website is quite bullish about the Bitcoin cash future. Their analysis shows the Bitcoin fork continuing with its meek bull run for the next five years. The site expects BCH price to rise to $2169 by 2024, $2688 by 2025, and top $3207 by the end of 2026.
Crypto-rating.com
Of all the experts and institutions we have reviewed, Crypto-Rating has the most optimistic view of the Bitcoin Cash future.
Its prediction is premised on the fact that the price of Bitcoin Cash will continue with its moderate upside trend for the better part of 2022 and 2023 before accelerating this pace and setting historical prices in 2025 or 2026.
At this peak, the site’s proprietary analysis algorithms place the value of Bitcoin Cash at between $12,000 and $15,000. But given the mediocre fundamentals exhibited by the asset so far, Crypto-Rating experts have reviewed this figure downwards to around $10,000.
Going into 2030, they expect BCH price to undergo significant rebalancing that places the Bitcoin price within the $6000 and $7000 range.
Coinpriceforecast.com
The cryptocurrency price prediction and analysis website Coinpriceforecast is equally optimistic about the price of Bitcoin Cash moving forward. Though at a relatively slow pace, the site analysis reports show the Bitcoin Cash price ascending well into 2032. According to this forecast, BCH will be worth $1371 by December 2025 before rising to $1895 and $2732 by the end of 2028 and 2032, respectively.
Past Bitcoin Cash Price Predictions That Came True
Bitcoin Cash can, by all means, be considered to be a relatively new cryptocurrency, having been started close to a decade after the launch of the Bitcoin blockchain white paper. The coin just turned three years, and it lacks so much in fundamentals or sufficient price history to help crypto industry experts make informed price predictions. These, plus its limited popularity, explain the minimal number of BCH price forecasters.
While we couldn’t find any verifiable past bitcoin cash prediction that came true, we couldn’t help but notice Roger Ver’s predictive comments about the future of the altcoin in 2018 and 2019. During this time, he made several comments that sought to explain the factors that he believes derailed BCH’s plan to compete with Bitcoin. One of these problems, he said, was the contentious creation of hard forks. He also argued that Bitcoin Cash developers had “too much money.” Without a proper administration in place to oversee this open-sourced network, some of these developers had started sponsoring numerous ‘updates’ to the network. These, according to Ver, played a key role in derailing the growth of Bitcoin Cash.
Both statements are true, and their impact on the network is evidenced by the different price dips suffered by the Bitcoin fork in the past. While these weren’t price predictions, they were pointers to the actual problems ailing the network and affecting the price of Bitcoin Cash.
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The Future of Bitcoin Cash: What Experts Are Saying About Bitcoin Cash’s Potential Growth
Experts and the crypto industry players at large are generally optimistic about the future price outlook of Bitcoin cash. Most of the expert views and comments arrive at an informal agreement that the Bitcoin fork’s mediocre but upward price trajectory will continue well into the next five years. Some have hinted at possible dips around 2022/23 but are confident the coin will recover quickly and possibly set new price records by the turn of the decade.
Three key factors keep coming up every time Bitcoin Cash experts try to justify their bullish views of BCH price and general growth. These include mass adoption of the altcoin, ultra-low processing fees, and faster transaction confirmation speeds.
As Bitcoin’s popularity soars and draws in more traders, investors, and merchant stores, its slow transaction speeds won’t be able to handle the increased network activities. In effect, BCH experts predict that the time it takes to have a BTC transaction confirmed will only increase, and with it, the transaction processing fees (these currently range between $5 and $50).
Frustrated by Bitcoin’s slow processing speeds and high transaction speeds, merchants and traders alike will start looking for alternatives. By scaling up block sizes, increasing transaction processing speeds, and lowering transaction fees (to an average $0.05 charge), Bitcoin cash has already positioned itself as the best alternative.
These experts are confident that the farther – in terms of popularity and price – Bitcoin continues with its price and popularity, the more it will lose its appeal to merchants and investors/alike who ultimately turn to BCH.
Conclusion: What Direction Can We Expect Bitcoin Price To Go?
Bitcoin Cash’s future price outlook is majorly bullish. The technical indicators and crypto expert predictions all point to an ascending, albeit slow, Bitcoin cash price curve. According to these BCH enthusiasts, most of the factors that pushed the Bitcoin fork to its February 2021 highs will continue playing a key role in BCH’s future price actions.
The development of the unofficial Bitcoin Cash roadmap and the attempt to have an administrative organ overseeing future updates to the open-sourced technology will particularly play a crucial role in the coin’s short- and longer-term price direction.
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